Ex-Utah governor loses top manager

Huntsman's bid for presidency takes another hit

WASHINGTON - The campaign manager for Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman left that job Thursday, the clearest sign that the campaign, which began with considerable hype a month ago, is having trouble gaining traction.

In a significant staffing shake-up, Susie Wiles stepped down from the top post, saying that she had always intended to get the former Utah governor's campaign off the ground and then move on. She will be replaced by Matt David, a communications aide who worked on the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in 2008 and who is closer to the campaign's core group of former McCain aides, including lead adviser John Weaver.

The move comes weeks after Wiles oversaw Huntsman's campaign rollout, which was riddled with errors, from a misspelling of the candidate's name to an announcement speech that was staged poorly for television.

Huntsman aides acknowledge that the presidential bid has gotten off to a rocky start and must soon see some movement in the polls.

High-level staff departures early in a presidential campaign are generally seen as a bad thing, but Wiles is the only known departure from Huntsman's team. Another staffer recently took a leave for personal reasons.